


close to collapsing

by archers_and_spies



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame, Canon Compliant (wow), F/M, Gen, Tony’s like already dead so does that count as major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:20:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22384750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/archers_and_spies/pseuds/archers_and_spies
Summary: In the aftermath of the final battle, the team sends Peter to talk to Pepper.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	close to collapsing

**Author's Note:**

> This is unedited and I wrote it in less than an hour so don’t expect much, but _do_ expect tears.

Quite some time has passed since the light of Tony’s arc reactor went out. Minutes or hours, Pepper can’t tell, but she had moved on from sobbing and heaving to burying her face in the crook of Tony’s neck, trying desperately to keep his body warm with her own heat despite the fact that his hand had slipped from hers so, so long ago already.

What is she going to tell Morgan? Their daughter has her whole life ahead of her, and she’ll have to live it without Tony.

“Miss Potts?”

Pepper shifts her face slightly to find Peter a few feet away from her, still shaking from the shock. His voice is hoarse from crying. 

“Miss Potts... the authorities are here to t— take Mr. Stark.”

“No,” she says as firmly as she can, but the single syllable trembles, as if close to collapsing. “No. Go home, Peter.”

That comes out ruder than she’d intended, but the kid looks tired, and she herself is tired, too tired to deal with any of this— 

“I’m sorry... Pepper.”

She stills at the use of her first name. To Peter, she’s only ever been _Miss Potts_ , _ma’am_ , even _Mrs Stark_ once when he was talking to Tony (and he had clapped his hand over his mouth immediately, Tony told her that night). All those... but never truly just _Pepper_.

She hears a soft thud beside her and looks up. Peter has half-sat, half-collapsed onto the ground beside her, starting to cry again, and it shocks her for a second to see him so vulnerable. Tony had always gone on about how Peter kept running into danger even though he was just a kid, and now she can see more clearly than ever that the boy beside her has gone through too much.

And so she releases her hold on Tony’s suit, detaches herself from his body, and wraps her arms around Peter. She can tell he’s a little shocked at first, but doesn’t have the will or energy to fend her off, and he eventually leans into her, sobbing uncontrollably. Pepper closes her eyes and lets a few silent tears slip as she holds him close. 

“I’m sorry,” he’s trying to say, and she shushes him gently. 

“You said the authorities were here?”

He nods. “The others are trying to buy you more time, even though they’re going to be forced to cave sooner or later. They figured they’d send me to you, since I’m a kid, easier to sympathise with or whatever.” He means it as a joke, but it holds some kind of truth in it, and a few seconds of feeble silence follow.

“Well then, you’d better put on your mask. Don’t wanna risk them finding out your secret identity, _or whatever_ ,” she says, and this time Peter smiles a tiny bit. “And hey, when all this is over... You’re welcome to drop by the cabin— that’s where we live now— whenever. Morgan’s going to love you.”

“Morgan?” He asks, an awed smile on his face.

“She’s just as bright as her father is,” Pepper says, and decides then and there she’s never going to stop thinking of Tony in the present tense. “She’s... a piece of him that I get to keep.”

He clicks some kind of hidden button, and the suit’s mask materialises on his face within two seconds. “Pepper, again, I really am so sorry.”

She doesn’t know what to say, so she just nods once to acknowledge him. He nods right back and disappears into the debris of what used to be the Facility.

She sits beside Tony, holds his hand and waits for him to be taken away from her for the last time.

**Author's Note:**

> [Find me on my other platforms here!](https://linktr.ee/karasnecklace)


End file.
